The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 537 Ningguta

At dusk, the soldiers who went out hunting returned. More than a dozen deer, wild boars and bears were killed. The camp was covered with animal blood. Bonfires were lit in the valley, and the wild beasts were roasted on the fires.

Wu Xiao, Yang Tong, and Yan Bazong, who had come from Ningguta to greet them, gathered around a bonfire filled with the aroma of meat and chatted. Yan Bazong introduced the situation in Ningguta.

The situation was not as bad as the emperor and his ministers in Shenyang had imagined.

"The Russians launched small raids and robbed people every now and then. Battalion Commanders Jiang and Qian ordered the villagers to retreat into the city and clear the countryside. The Russians had no food to eat, so they had to hunt in the woods."

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Liuer, who grew up eating at hundreds of homes in Shenyang City, has been promoted to battalion officer. Wu Xiao suddenly felt as if he was in another world.

"hunt?"

"Yes, there are many ferocious beasts around Ningguta."

This was Wu Xiao's first time to come to Ningguta on business, and he was not familiar with the local customs and people.

Every year, flocks of wild geese and ducks migrate here, and the locals set traps to catch them. Yan Bazong talked about how in the summer, when the locals lacked food and clothing, they would regard snake meat as a delicacy and weave snake skins into clothes, which not only kept them cool but also repelled mosquitoes.

Wu Xiao recalled the time when he and Lin Yu were investigating the Wenxiang Sect in Wendeng, Shandong. He and the big guy were hiding in the weeds outside Wendeng County, being bitten by mosquitoes and suffering terribly.

"Captain Yan, let's talk about this in Ningguta. I have something to say to Captain Yang."

General Yan quickly stood up and saluted the two superiors, then retreated holding a roasted roe deer thigh.

The night sky was as dark as ink, and the sounds of animals and beasts came from the valley. The prisoners, who had been running around all day and were covered in wounds, were either lying or lying down, howling in the darkness.

Wu Xiao used a wooden stick to stir the charcoal at the bottom of the campfire, ignoring the wailing.

"Officer Yang, do you know that the Emperor sent you and me to Ningguta this time, besides escorting the imperial prisoner and inspecting the city defenses, what else is there?"

Yang Tong was the leader of the pacification troops and traveled between Shenyang and Ningguta all year round, so he should be more informed.

Prisoners exiled from all over Qi State would gather in Shenyang and be transported to Ningguta.

By the fourth year of Taichu, the empire's border extended to Shanxi in the west and to the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers in the south. For most prisoners, the journey was not too far, and they would not be exiled from the Central Plains to Hainan like Su Shi in the Song Dynasty.

"I don't know."

Some words cannot be said casually, and some questions cannot be asked casually.

The only difference between the Da Qi Zhenfu Army and the Suoyi Guard is that one is for internal affairs and the other for external affairs.

The reason why Yang Tong was called the Living Devil was not because he was cruel, but because the pacification troops under his command, like the Suoyi Guards, were a group that people were afraid of.

Like the Suoyi Guards, those who were taken away by the pacification soldiers had basically no chance of survival.

The more killing there is, the more silent people become.

Wu Xiao claims to be someone close to the emperor, so he speaks without thinking and does not shy away from these things.

"I heard that the Emperor wants to exile more people."

"Oh,"

Yang Tong said "oh" and had no reaction to such explosive information.

It was originally planned to be located in Fang County, Huguang. Grand Secretary Hou Xun said that Fang County had been a place for exile and detention of criminals since the Qin Dynasty. For example, Lu Buwei was exiled to Fang County.

The retired emperor rejected this proposal. The rebellion of refugees in Jingxiang had just been put down, and there were many local powerful families. If more prisoners were placed there, another rebellion would happen sooner or later.

"Oh, I've heard a little about this, too."

The sniper who was once taciturn is now even more silent. In recent years, Yang Tong has hardly spoken. When he speaks, it is either to order the execution of a prisoner or to capture a wanted criminal.

Ningguta has a sparse population, and in the future it will become the front line for attacking Tsarist Russia, colonizing Outer Northeast China, and advancing into North America. This is the national policy set by the retired emperor in the first year of Wuding, and it cannot be changed. Even if 10,000 or 100,000 people die, it must be implemented.

After the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty, the Jurchens in Outer Northeast China were almost completely wiped out. Coupled with the local Cossacks' Three Alls Policy, the population in areas north of Liaodong plummeted, with only one in ten remaining. It was obviously a pipe dream to expect that distributing land would attract farmers from the interior to come and cultivate the land and increase the population.

Under this situation, the Ningguta model came into being.

There are many legends about the Ningguta model under the rule of the Great Qi.

For example: In Ningguta, only the dead can laugh, because they are finally free.

But in fact, in this devilish land, even the dead cannot smile.

In "Ningguta", no one knows how their life will end until the last moment, because there are at least ten thousand roads leading to the end.

Death, no matter how horrifying, receives no mercy or help. Companions will quickly strip the poor person of their cotton-padded clothes to protect themselves from the cold; their bodies may well become a rare "delicious meal" for their fellow humans. The harsh living environment completely deprives them of friendship, care, sympathy, and sadness.

Animality and instinct are eternal.

How can one enter Ningguta? The only way is through arrest.

During the long years when Emperor Wu Ding ruled the empire, a shadow of terror loomed over every subject of the empire:
You don't have to oppose the government or be dissatisfied with the status quo.

You may even be arrested for no apparent reason without doing anything at all.

From Malacca to the Arctic Circle, from the Ural Mountains to Hokkaido, Japan, from Taiwan Island to the depths of Central Asia, in the vast territory of Da Qi, which occupies one-fifth of the earth's territory, all human settlements, all barren lands, and any corner may have a Ningguta-style prison.

Due to factors such as material transportation and construction costs, and because the prisons are located in vast expanses of wilderness, where escape is unlikely, most Ningguta prisons are not built like fortresses and lack strict security measures.

Of course, there are also people who take risks in order to survive and choose to escape from prison, but they all end up in a miserable situation.

If there are no enemies, we will create them.

Among the pacification soldiers and the raincoat guards, there was a famous saying:

The most dangerous and terrifying thing is not the enemy itself, but the absence of an enemy. Therefore, even if there is no enemy, we must create one.

Because of this truth, criminals from all over the country came to Ningguta in large numbers.

Ningguta has undertaken almost all types of production tasks in the country. Mining, agricultural planting, grenades, torpedoes, rockets, etc. have all entered Ningguta's production sequence.

These are things for later, let’s not mention them for now.

"Yang Tong, you are somewhat similar to my brother Lin Yu."

The bonfire gradually went out, and the surroundings were filled with cold air. Wu Xiao raised the wine jug and gulped down a mouthful. The mellow sake flowed down Wu Xiao's throat into his lungs, and a warmth surged through Sanyuan Knight's whole body.

"Really? Officer Wu and my superior are quite similar."

Yang Tong lifted up the red-hot iron hook.

"You mean Supervisor Qiao?"

Wu Xiao handed over the roasted robe leg and the iron hook caught the roast meat.

"Please be careful with your words and actions. The Emperor's spies are everywhere in Ningguta. Even though you are His Majesty's attendant, you must be careful with your words."

The bonfire cast a blood-red light on the faces of the two men. Yang Tong's figure was stretched out very long. The warhorse curled up in the shadow of the man, leisurely chewing the ruminant grass. In the mountains and forests, night owls were cooing.

"From farmers to ministers, from captives to our own people, the killing has been raging, from the first year of the Wuding reign to the present day. Will it ever end?"

Wu Xiao's sharp eyes pierced through the jumping flames, and his cold expression seemed to want to extinguish the bonfire.

Yang Tong brought the barbecue close to his mouth, took a careful bite, and remained silent.

"Yang Tong, Lin Yu and I just came from Beijing..."

Wu Xiao swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Emperor Wuding had repeatedly instructed that not a single word of this matter must be leaked.

"Rest early, we have to travel tomorrow."

Yang Tong stood up and was about to leave.

"I originally joined the Emperor, hoping to achieve great things and save the people of the world. But now I have fallen to the point of killing innocent people. Why is this happening?"

Yang Tong’s wife Liu Yue’er is in North Korea, and together with the scum of the Chamber of Commerce Army, they are systematically looting the North Korean people.

Wu Xiao also knew that a new round of purge was about to begin, and this time, more officials would be eliminated.

Whatever the reasons for the Great Purge, it cannot change the nature of indiscriminate killing.

"Old Yang!"

Wu Xiao grabbed the empty sleeve and said anxiously:
"Who are you going to kill this time? Tell me! Several ministers in the court have done me a favor..."

"Misfortune comes from the mouth. It will come to Ningguta tomorrow. Once you get there, you will understand."

Yang Tong broke free from his sleeves, took two guards with him, and disappeared into the shadows behind the campfire, leaving Wu Xiao alone in the firelight.

(End of this chapter)